Video: Professor Wayne Wiegand Discusses U.S. Public Library History at Library of Congress

The public library is a “part of our lives,” argues a new book on the history of American libraries as told through the testimonies of those who use them.

In “Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library” (Oxford University Press, 2015), library historian Wayne A. Wiegand makes the case for why the library has survived and flourished in the 21st century, “despite dire predictions in the late 20th century that public libraries would not survive the turn of the millennium.”

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“Part of Our Lives” traces the history of United States public libraries since 1850. Wiegand did research using newspaper articles, memoirs and biographies to present a picture of Americans, both famous and not-so-famous, and to show why they value libraries not only as civic institutions but also as social spaces for promoting and maintaining community. Much of his research was conducted at the Library of Congress.

Wayne A. Wiegand is the F. William Summers professor emeritus at the School of Information at Florida State University. He is one of the nation’s leading library historians.

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.